Are you looking for a super-successful clay project for 3rd-5th grade? Our third graders loved making these sea turtle pinch pots. Check out the video tutorial!
I’ve included a short video of our school’s Skutt kiln. I’ve found that young students don’t understand the process that transforms their soft, gray, clay creations into a pale-colored, hard ceramics. I show this video in class to all grades, no matter what clay project I’m doing.
Materials: clay, a popsicle stick, a toothbrush, and water.
alphabet pasta (I use La Moderna brand from the Hispanic food section at Wal Mart).
underglaze
clear glaze
Make the cupcake base
Give each student a lump of clay and a silicone cupcake form. Create a pinch pot, place it in the silicone form and press the clay all around against the textured sides of the form. If the clay pot is higher than the form, trim the clay with a pin tool or plastic knife. Turn form inside out and remove from clay. Students should write their name on the bottom at this time.
Make the cupcake lid
Take some more clay and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball. Invert the top of the cupcake form and place onto of the flattened clay. Trim clay to fit cupcake form. Write student name on one side of the lid.
I saw this great post on making simple clay roses on the smART Class blog. Essentially, you create a coil (rope) of clay, lay it on the table, pinch the top (‘spine’) along the length of the coil, and spiral into a rose. Please see the smART Class blog post for a full photo tutorial.
We attached our roses (and optional leaves) to the lid using vinegar applied with a q-tip. Some students skipped the roses and added other decorations. Variations included a sun, animal, wrapped present, and cherry.
(Note: vinegar is our glue. We use it instead of slip when attaching small clay objects).
Adding text
Pour some alphabet pasta into a plate. Press alphabet pasta into wet clay. Write a birthday message or anything else. Do not remove (the pasta will burn out in the kiln).
Fire to cone 04.
Glaze the cupcake
Glaze the base with three coats of underglaze.
If the lid has text, use a stiff brush to press a dark color of underglaze into text indentations. Wipe off the underglaze. The text should now be legible. Carefully glaze the roses/leaves/decorations with three coats of underglaze. When dry, add 2-3 coats of clear glaze. Fire to cone 06.
Textured curling ribbon tied in a bow looks great on this wrapped gift. The gingerbread man is trimmed in rick rack.
Need a fun and flexible holiday project? Try making you own collagraph crayon rubbings, using cardboard and scraps. The project takes about one hour and is adaptable to all sorts of holidays like Valentine’s Day and birthdays.
Materials:
light cardboard, 8.5×11″, two per student
scissors
pencil
glue stick
textured fabric trim such as ribbons, rick rack and lace
Students drew one holiday shape on cardboard, then cut it out.
Select one holiday shape for the main part of the collagraph. Draw the shape on the first piece of cardboard and cut it out (note: for those students creating their own designs, emphasize that the design needs to be simple and stretched to the top and bottom of the page).
Glue the cut-out shapes to the second piece of cardboard using glue stick. You have now created a collagraph rubbing plate.
Now for the fun!
Cut decorations for your collagraph plate from your cardboard scraps and from fabric trim. Experiment with the craft scissors and the hole punch. Glue these decorations on top of and around your main shape. LAYERING IS GOOD! TEXTURE IS GOOD!
Now flip over the collagraph plate and place it face down on your chair. SIT ON THE CARDBOARD AND COUNT TO 30. (It is so fun to do this step!) Now all the pieces are glued down are we are ready to rub.
Santa hat and star, decorated with cardboard cut with Fiskar paper edgers.
Creating the crayon rubbing
Place your collagraph face up on the table. Cover with the copy paper. Rub with a peeled crayon (note: it is helpful to have a partner hold the plate while the student rubs). Repeat with another crayon color.
Now trade collagraph rubbing plates with your neighbor. Or rotate tables so everyone comes away with a set of holiday cards.
This students glued lace to her tree for texture. She did two rubbings with green and magenta crayons.
This technique would make awesome cards for birthdays – imagine a collagraph layer cake with rick rack candles. Imagine a textured doily rubbing plate for Valentine’s Day cards.
If you want to take this project a step further, you can roll printer’s ink on the collagraph and pull some prints. You can also color or paint the collagraph plate so it become an artwork.
Thinking about a self-portrait project? This project starts as a basic self portrait but turns into a family ancestry art project when students add in national flag designs. This lesson uses basic materials and takes just two 40-minute classes. It comes straight from the wonderful Artisan Des Arts blog.
We began by looking at the great student examples on the Artisan Des Arts blog post. Then I asked the students, “Where does your family come from?” After a quick discussion, Next we looked at flags of the world. Then the students drew their portraits in pencil.
Because most of our students have mixed heritage, they had the option of using multiple flags in their design. It was up to them to figure out their own designs. The most common choice was to have one flag design on the face and a second on the shirt.
As a final touch, students had the option of cutting out their self-portraits and mounting them to construction paper.
I really look forward to our next art show. I think the parents will be THRILLED to see their heritage honored in this project.
What a fabulous lesson plan! I will definitely repeat next year. Thanks to Aly at Artisan des Arts for sharing this great project.
Do you have a special twist on a portrait project?
Fourth graders use markers to make landscape name art. Allow two 40-minute sessions.
Looking for quick, fun name art project? Here is the colorful project that gives 100% success and lets you get to know your students.
Students made a simple landscapes using curved lines. Each section was filled with a single repeated word. One section had to filled with the student’s name; the other sections had to be filled with single repeated words that described the student in some way. Students incorporated their pets, favorite subjects (yay art!), sports, activities, family members and favorite foods.
